Captain Kaela sails the Mediterranean

It’s not often that you find a nice Jewish girl from Cape Town captaining a super yacht in the Mediterranean, but for 28-year-old Kaela Bermeister, it’s all in a day’s work.

As she prepares to set sail on a spontaneous trip to Mexico, she told the SA Jewish Report how hard work, a cool head, and a sense of adventure led her to this unusual and exciting career.

“I went to Herzlia for most of my school career. I found out about yachting as a career one evening at the end of matric. The company was advertising yachting courses and gap-year experiences working on super yachts, earning Euros tax free, and an expense-free lifestyle travelling the Mediterranean,” she says. “I kept it in mind as I studied a BCom in Financial Management through Unisa [the University of South Africa], while working as a waitress at Café Caprice in Camps Bay, which was lots of fun and a good way to boost myself into the hospitality industry.”

She saved up and paid for the basic courses one needs to work on a yacht, covering skills like survival, fire-fighting, and security awareness out at sea.

“My first job was on a 40 metre yacht based in Ibiza. The captain took me under his wing, and taught me everything I know, and then took me with him to work on a 50 metre yacht. I worked with him for five years, and was the only girl on deck. He invested in all my courses because I gave so much time to them. I accumulated a ‘yacht master off shore’ qualification which allows you to drive a boat up to 26 metres.”

The yacht she is now skippering is a 26 metre yacht named Shockwave, built by a company in Sweden called Delta. Full of enthusiasm and knowledge, Bermeister says it’s “very unusual looking for its size compared to your standard super yacht”.

“It’s made entirely out of carbon fibre, and it’s got three Volvo engines, which is also unusual for a boat this size. It goes very fast – up to 40 knots – which is about 80km an hour. It cruises through the water because it’s so light – it weighs only 60 tons – which is also unusual for a boat this size. They usually weigh up to 150 tons to 200 tons. It just sits on top of the water – we fly over the swell. You never feel the weather. Similar boats may rock on the waves and people feel queasy and things fly all over the place. We don’t have any of that.”

The yacht is owned by a family, and Bermeister hopes they will still be able to travel in the months ahead in spite of lockdowns around the world. “We will probably go to Monaco for the Grand Prix, then the South of France, and maybe Italy and Sardinia. It’s much more fun to be at sea, to navigate, and come up with a travel plan than just to sit stationary.”

The pandemic has had a positive impact on her. “I’m grateful that it’s given me the opportunity to be on this yacht. At the beginning of the pandemic, I left my previous boat and got stuck in Cape Town for six months. It gave me time to think about what I want to do, and to manifest a more ‘normal’ life, based in Mallorca with my apartment and friends, and not be on the go all the time, which I have been for the previous five years. Then I got this job. It was the perfect situation for me – exactly what I wanted.”

However, they have done a lot less travelling because of the pandemic. “I actually contracted corona[virus] over New Year. I was staying in my apartment, but as the only person working on the yacht, I still had to check it every three days. You can’t just turn off a yacht – you need to check the engine room, clean filters, check the air conditioners, look at the water tanks, check for fire hazards. So every three days, I got into the crew car and drove down, wearing my mask and gloves, and had no contact with anyone.”

She says the experience of being captain depends on the yacht you’re on. On this yacht, everything falls on her young shoulders. “I’m the only crew member, although I’ve just hired another guy to help me. I manage and delegate the work, drive the boat and berth it, plan the itinerary, and I’m always checking weather and sea state. I’m in charge of safety measures, getting us from A to B, and essentially, I’ve also taken on the role of host, for example I make sure the fridges are full, manage housekeeping, ensuring everything is clean and shiny, even playing great music.

“Ultimately it’s about making sure the guests are having a great time from the minute they arrive to the minute they leave, with top quality service. If anything goes wrong, or the other crew member makes a mistake, it’s on me. I’m responsible for everyone on board as well as the boat.”

She doesn’t think she is the first Jewish person in this kind of role, but there are definitely fewer female captains than men. “I’m probably one of the very few Jewish women doing this, but there are a growing number of women stepping out on deck, getting qualifications, and becoming captains,” she says.

She plans to get more qualifications. “I would love to end up at naval college in the United Kingdom at the end of the year and do its course in three months, which is possible as my boss has agreed to invest in my courses going forward. I want to continue to work with this family – they are wonderful. They may build a bigger boat and if they do, they will take me with them, and I’ll be qualified to work on it.”

She loves what she does. “It’s a great way to save money and invest, and it’s been a lot of fun. It definitely beats having an office job.” And, in spite of the responsibility and workload she takes on, she says, “I can’t remember the last time I was stressed out because of my job.” As she sets sail for her next adventure, the world really is her oyster.